An ethical system, based on the work of philosopher Immanuel Kant, in which individuals follow moral absolutes. The underlying tenet in this ethical system suggests that we should act as an example to others.

channel

A pathway through which a message is sent.

civil communication

The acceptance of another person as an equal partner in achieving meaning during communication.

communication apprehension

A fear or an anxiety pertaining to the communication process.

communication competency

The ability to communicate with knowledge, skills, and thoughtfulness.

communication models

Visual, simplified representations of complex relationships in the communication process.

content level

The verbal and nonverbal information contained in a message that indicates the topic of the message.

context

The environment in which a message is sent.

cultural context

The cultural environment in which communication occurs.

dark side of interpersonal communication

Negative communication exchanges between people, such as manipulation, deceit, and verbal aggression.

ethic of care

An ethical system, based on the concepts of Carol Gilligan, that is concerned with the connections among people and the moral consequences of decisions.

ethics

The perceived rightness or wrongness of an action or behavior, determined in large part by society.

external feedback

The feedback we receive from other people.

feedback

A verbal or nonverbal response to a message. See also internal feedback and external feedback.

field of experience

The influence of a person's culture, past experiences, personal history, and heredity on the communication process.

golden mean

An ethical system, articulated by Aristotle, that proposes a person's moral virtue stands between two vices, with the middle, or the mean, being the foundation for a rational society.

historical context

A type of context in which messages are understood in relationship to previously sent messages.

interactional model of communication

A characterization of communication as a two-way process in which a message is sent from sender to receiver and from receiver to sender.

intercultural communication apprehension

A fear or anxiety pertaining to communication with people from different cultural backgrounds.

internal feedback

The feedback we give ourselves when we assess our own communication.

interpersonal communication

The process of message transaction between two people to create and sustain shared meaning.

irreversibility

The fact that our communication with others cannot be unsaid or reversed.

linear model of communication

A characterization of communication as a one-way process that transmit a message from a sender to a receiver.

meaning

What the sender intends to convey with a message, and what the receiver extracts from a message.

message

Spoken, written, or unspoken information sent from a sender to a receiver.

message exchange

The transaction of verbal and nonverbal messages being sent simultaneously between two people.

noise

Anything that interferes with accurate transmission or reception of a message. See also physical noise, physiological noise, psychological noise, and semantic noise.

physical context

The tangible environment in which communication occurs.

physical noise

Any stimuli outside of a sender or a receiver that interfere with the transmission or reception of a message. Also called external noise.

physiological noise

Biological influences on a sender or a receiver that interfere with the transmission or reception of a message.

process

When used to describe interpersonal communication, an ongoing, unending, vibrant activity that always changes.

psychological noise

Biases, prejudices, and feelings that interfere with the accurate transmission or reception of a message. Also called internal noise.

receiver

The intended target of a message.

relational history

The prior relationship experiences two people share.

relational rules

Negotiable rules that indicate what two relational partners expect and allow when they talk to each other.

relational uniqueness

The ways in which the particular relationship of two relational partners stands apart from other relationships they experience.

relationship level

The information contained in a message that indicates how the sender wants the receiver to interpret the message.

rule

A prescribed guide that indicates what behavior is obligated, preferred, or prohibited in certain contexts.

self-actualization

The process of gaining information about ourselves in an effort to tap our full potential, our spontaneity, and our talents, and to cultivate our strengths and eliminate our shortcomings.

semantic noise

Occurs when senders and receivers apply different meanings to the same message. Semantic noise may take the form of jargon, technical language, and other words and phrases that are familiar to the sender but that are not understood by the receiver.

semiotics

The study of signs and symbols in relation to their form and content.

sender

The source of a message.

significant choice

An ethical system, conceptualized by Thomas Nilsen, in which communication is ethical to the extent that it maximizes our ability to exercise free choice. In this system, information should be given to others in a noncoercive way so that people can make free and informed decisions.

social-emotional context

The relational and emotional environment in which communication occurs.

symbols

Arbitrary labels or representations (such as words) for feelings, concepts, objects, or events.

transactional model of communication

A characterization of communication as the reciprocal sending and receiving of messages. In a transactional encounter, the sender and receiver do not simply send meaning from one to the other and then back again; rather, they build shared meaning through simultaneous sending and receiving.

utilitarianism

An ethical system, developed by John Stuart Mill, in which what is ethical is what will bring the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In this system, consequences of moral actions, especially maximizing satisfaction and happiness, are important.

attending and selecting

The first stage of the perception process, requiring us to use our visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory senses to respond to stimuli in our interpersonal environment.

attribution theory

A theory that explains how we create explanations or attach meaning to another person's behavior or our own.

face

The image of the self we choose to present to others in our interpersonal encounters.

fact

A piece of information that is verifiable by direct observation.

gender

The learned behaviors a culture associates with being a male or female, known as masculinity or femininity.

gender role socialization

The process by which women and men learn the gender roles appropriate to their sex. This process affects the way the sexes perceive the world.

gender schema

A mental framework we use to process and categorize beliefs, ideas, and events as either masculine or feminine in order to understand and organize our world.

halo effect

Matching like qualities with each other to create an overall perception of someone or something.

identity management theory

The communication behaviors we exhibit to influence how others perceive us.

implicit personality theory

The theory that we rely on a set of a few characteristics to draw inferences about others and use these inferences as the basis of our communication with them.

inference

A conclusion derived from a fact, but it does not reflect direct observation or experience.

interpreting

The third stage of the perception process, in which we assign meaning to what we perceive.

mindful

Having the ability to engage our senses so that we are observant and aware of our surroundings.

negative face

Our desire that others refrain from imposing their will on us, respect our individuality and our uniqueness, and avoid interfering with our actions or beliefs.

negative halo

Occurs when we group negative qualities (e.g., unintelligent, rude, and temperamental) together.

organizing

The second stage of the perception process, in which we place what are often a number of confusing pieces of information into an understandable, accessible, and orderly arrangement.

perception

The process of using our senses to understand and respond to stimuli. The perception process occurs in four stages: attending and selecting, organizing, interpreting, and retrieving.

positive face

Our desire to be liked by significant others in our lives and have them confirm our beliefs, respect our abilities, and value what we value.

positive halo

Occurs when we place positive qualities (e.g., warm, sensitive, and intelligent) together.

relational schema

A mental framework or memory structure that we rely on to understand experience and to guide our future behavior in relationships.

relational uppers

People who support and trust us as we improve our self-concept.

retrieving

The fourth and final stage of the perception process, in which we recall information stored in our memories.

selective perception

Directing our attention to certain stimuli while ignoring other stimuli.

selective retention

Recalling information that agrees with our perceptions and selectively forgetting information that does not.

self-awareness

Our understanding of who we are.

self-concept

A relatively stable set of perceptions we hold of ourselves.

self-esteem

An evaluation of who we perceive ourselves to be.

self-fulfilling prophecy

A prediction or expectation about our future behavior that is likely to come true because we believe it and thus act in ways that make it come true.

self-monitoring

Actively thinking about and controlling our public behaviors and actions.

sex

The biological make-up of an C6individual (male or female).

stereotyping

Categorizing individuals according to a fixed impression, whether positive or negative, of an entire group to which they belong.

symbolic interactionism

The theory that our understanding of ourselves and of the world are shaped by our interactions with those around us.

worldview

A unique personal frame for viewing life and life's events.

acculturation

Occurs when a person learns, adapts to, and adopts the appropriate behaviors and rules of a host culture.

co-culture

A culture within a culture.

collectivism

A cultural mindset that emphasizes the group and its norms, values, and beliefs over the self.

community

The common understandings among people who are committed to coexisting.

context orientation theory

The theory that meaning is derived from either the setting of the message or the words of a message and that cultures can vary in the extent to which message meaning is made explicit or implicit.

cultural empathy

The learned ability to accurately understand the experiences of people from diverse cultures and to convey that understanding responsively.

cultural imperialism

The process whereby individuals, companies, and/or the media impose their way of thinking and behaving upon another culture.

cultural relativity

The ability to avoid judging or condemning any practice in which any other culture engages.

cultural variability theory

A theory that describes the four value dimensions (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity/femininity) that offer information regarding the value differences in a particular culture.

culture

The shared, personal, and learned life experiences of a group of individuals who have a common set of values, norms, and traditions.

culture clash

A conflict over cultural expectations and experiences.

enculturation

Occurs when a personeither consciously or unconsciously learns to identify with a particular culture and a culture's thinking, way of relating, and worldview.

ethnocentrism

The process of judging another culture using the standards of our own culture.

feminine cultures

A culture that emphasizes characteristics stereotypically associated with feminine people, such as sexual equality, nurturance, quality of life, supportiveness, affection, and a compassion for the less fortunate.

global village

The concept that all societies, regardless of their size, are connected in some way. The term also can be used to describe how communication technology ties the world into one political, economical, social, and cultural system.

high-context culture

A culture in which there is a high degree of similarity among members and in which the meaning of a message is drawn primarily from its context, such as one's surroundings, rather than from words.

in-groups

A group to which a person feels he or she belongs.

individualism

A cultural mindset that emphasizes self-concept and personal achievement and that prefers competition over cooperation, the individual over the group, and the private over the public.

intercultural communication

Communication between and among individuals and groups from different cultural backgrounds.

low-context cultures

A culture in which there is a high degree of difference among members and in which the meaning of a message must be explicitly related, usually in words.

masculine cultures

A culture that emphasizes characteristics stereotypically associated with masculine people, such as achievement, competitiveness, strength, and material success.

out-groups

A group to which a person feels he or she does not belong.

outsourcing

A practice in which a nation sends work and workers to a different country because doing so is cost efficient.

power distance

How a culture perceives and distributes power.

uncertainty avoidance

A cultural mindset that indicates how tolerant (or intolerant) a culture is of uncertainty and change.

abstract

Not able to be seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard.

codability

The ease with which a language can express a thought.

code-switching

Shifting back and forth between languages in the same conversation.

concrete

Able to be seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard.

confirmation

A response that acknowledges and supports another.

connotative meaning

The meaning of a verbal symbol that is derived from our personal and subjective experience with that symbol.

decoding

The process of developing a thought based on hearing verbal symbols, observing nonverbal messages, or both.

denotative meaning

The literal, conventional meaning of a verbal symbol that most people in a culture have agreed is the meaning of that symbol.

disconfirmation

A response that fails to acknowledge and support another, leaving the person feeling ignored and disregarded.

encoding

The process of putting thoughts and feelings into verbal symbols, nonverbal messages, or both.

equivocation

A type of ambiguity that involves choosing our words carefully to give a listener a false impression without actually lying.

euphemism

A milder or less direct word substituted for another word that is more blunt or negative.

framing theory

A theory that argues that when we compare two unlike things in a figure of speech, we are unconsciously influenced by this decision.

generic he

The use of the masculine pronoun he to function generically when the subject of the sentence is of unknown gender.

grammar

The rules that dictate the structure of language.

idiom

A word or a phrase that has an understood meaning within a culture but whose meaning is not derived by exact translation.

indexing

Avoiding generalizations by acknowledging the time frame in which we judge others and ourselves.

language

The ability to transmit thoughts from the mind of one individual to another through the process of encoding.

lexical gaps

Experiences that are not named.

linguistic determinism

A theory that argues that our language determines our ability to perceive and think about things. If we don't have a word for something in our language, this theory predicts we won't think about it or notice it.

linguistic relativity

A theory that states that language influences our thinking but doesn't determine it. Thus, if we don't have a word for something in our language, this theory predicts it will be difficult, but not impossible, to think about it or notice it.

man-linked words

Words that include the word man but that are supposed to operate generically to include women as well, such as mankind.

muted groups

People whose experiences are not well represented in verbal symbols and who have trouble articulating their thoughts and feelings verbally because their language doesn't give them an adequate vocabulary.

perspective-taking

Acknowledging the viewpoints of those with whom we interact.

phatic communication

Communication consisting of words and phrases that are used for interpersonal contact only and are not meant to be translated verbatim.

polarization

The tendency to use either-or language and speak of the world in extremes.

process of abstraction

The ability to move up and down the ladder of abstraction from specific to general and vice versa.

referent

The thing a verbal symbol represents.

reification

The tendency to respond to words or labels for things as though they were the things themselves.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

A theory that points to connections among culture, language, and thought. In its strong form, this theory is known as linguistic determinism, and in its weak form, it is known as linguistic relativity.

sexist language

Language that is demeaning to one sex.

speech community

A group of people who share norms about how to speak, what words to use, and when, where, and why to speak.

static evaluation

The tendency to speak and respond to someone today the same way we did in the past, not recognizing that people and relationships change over time.

strategic ambiguity

Leaving out cues in a message on purpose to encourage multiple interpretations by others.

symbolic interactionism

The theory that our understanding of ourselves and of the world is shaped by our interactions with those around us.

two culture theory

A theory that asserts that sex operates in the same way as culture in establishing different rules, norms, and language patterns for men and women.

verbal symbols

Words.

body artifacts

The study of a person's body movement and its effect on the communication process.

body orientation

The extent to which we turn our legs, shoulders, and head toward (or away) from a communicator.

chronemics

The study of a person's use of time.

citing gestures

Gestures that acknowledge another's feedback in a conversation.

delivery gestures

Gestures that signal shared understanding between communicators in a conversation.

expectancy violations theory

A theory that maintains that we expect other people to maintain a certain distance from us in their conversations with us.

haptics

The study of how we communicate through touch.

interaction adaptation theory

A theory that suggests individuals simultaneously adapt their communication behavior to the communication behavior of others.

intimate distance

The distance that extends about eighteen inches around each of us that is normally reserved for people with whom we are close, such as close friends, romantic partners, and family members.

kinesics

The study of a person's body movement and its effect on the communication process.

mixed message

The incompatibility that occurs when our nonverbal messages are not congruent with our verbal messages.

nonverbal communication

All behaviors other than spoken words that communicate messages and create shared meaning between people.

paralanguage

The study of a person's voice. Also called vocalics.

personal distance

Ranging from eighteen inches to four feet, the space most people use during conversations.

Nonverbal behaviors that include pitch, rate, volume, inflection, tempo, and pronunciation, as well as the use of vocal segregates and silence.

action-centered listening style

A listening style associated with listeners who want messages to be highly organized, concise, and error-free.

ambushing

Listening carefully to a message and then using the information later to attack the sender.

American Sign Language (ASL)

A visual rather than auditory form of communication that is composed of precise hand shapes and movements.

chunking

Placing pieces of information into manageable and retrievable sets.

content-centered listening style

A listening style associated with listeners who focus on the facts and details of a message.

conversational narcissism

Engaging in an extreme amount of self-focusing during a conversation, to the exclusion of another person.

defensive listening

Viewing innocent comments as personal attacks or hostile criticisms.

dialogue enhancers

Supporting statements, such as I see or I'm listening, that indicate we are involved in a message.

empathy

The process of identifying with or attempting to experience the thoughts, beliefs, and actions of another.

gap fillers

Listeners who think they can correctly guess the rest of the story a speaker is telling and don't need the speaker to continue.

hearing

The physical process of letting in audible stimuli without focusing on the stimuli.

listening

The dynamic, transactional process of receiving, recalling, rating, and responding to stimuli, messages, or both, from another.

listening gap

The time difference between our mental ability to interpret words and the speed at which they arrive at our brain.

listening style

A predominant and preferred approach to listening to the messages we hear.

message overload

The result when senders receive more messages than they can process.

mindless

Being unaware of the stimuli around us.

multitasking

The simultaneous performance of two or more tasks.

nonjudgmental feedback

Feedback that describes another's behavior and then explains how that behavior made us feel.

opinion

A view, judgment, or appraisal based on our beliefs or values.

paraphrasing

Restating the essence of a sender's message in our own words.

people-centered listening style

A listening style associated with concern for other people's feelings or emotions.

pseudolisten

To pretend to listen by nodding our heads, looking at the speaker, smiling at the appropriate times, or practicing other kinds of attention feigning.

rating

Evaluating or assessing a message.

recalling

Understanding a message, storing it for future encounters, and remembering it later.

receiving

The verbal and nonverbal acknowledgment of a message.

responding

Providing observable feedback to a sender's message.

second-guess

To question the assumptions underlying a message.

selective listening

Responding to some parts of a message and rejecting others.

talkaholic

A compulsive talker who hogs the conversational stage and monopolizes encounters.

time-centered listening style

A listening style associated with listeners who want messages to be presented succinctly.

working memory theory

A theory that states that we can pay attention to several stimuli and simultaneously store stimuli for future reference.

active listening

Suspending our own responses while listening so we can concentrate on what another person is saying.

activity

An attribute of emotion that refers to whether the emotion implies action or passivity.

communicating emotionally

Communicating such that the emotion is not the content of the message but rather a property of it.

dualism

A way of thinking that constructs polar opposite categories to encompass the totality of a thing. Dualism prompts us to think about things in an either or fashion.

emoticon

An icon that can be typed on a keyboard to express emotions; used to compensate for the lack of nonverbal cues in computermediated communication.

emotion

The critical internal structure that orients us to and engages us with what matters in our lives: our feelings about ourselves and others. Emotion encompasses both the internal feelings of one person (for instance, anxiety or happiness) as well as feelings that can be experienced only in a relationship (for instance, jealousy or competitiveness).

emotional communication

Talking about an emotional experience.

emotional contagion

The process of transferring emotions from one person to another.

emotional effects

The ways in which an emotional experience impacts communication behavior.

emotional experience

The feeling of emotion.

empathy

The process of identifying with or attempting to experience the thoughts, beliefs, and actions of another.

feeling rules

The cultural norms used to create and react to emotional expressions.

I-messages

A message phrased to show we understand that our feelings belong to us and aren't caused by someone else.

intensity

An attribute of emotion that refers to how strongly an emotion is felt.

meta-emotion

Emotion felt about experiencing another emotion.

owning

Verbally taking responsibility for our own thoughts and feelings.

reframing

To change something that has a negative connotation to something with a more positive connotation (e.g., a problem can become a concern, or a challenge can become an opportunity). This strategy can also be used to cope with dialectic tensions in a relationship.

valence

An attribute of emotion that refers to whether the emotion reflects a positive or negative feeling.